Captain's Log: Sulu
| miniseries = | minino = | writer =Scott & David Tipton | artist =Federica Manfredi| colorist = | letterer = | editor = | omnibus = | published =January 2010 | pages =32 | story =22 | publisher =IDW Publishing | covers = | altcover = | caption = | date = circa 2290-2291| stardate = | }} Publisher's description ;From solicitations :Introducing a brand-new series focusing on some of the most famous Captains in Starfleet history! In the debut issue, Captain Hikaru Sulu, still new to the command of the U.S.S. Excelsior, finds himself once again face to face with one of the Federation's most dangerous and mysterious adversaries -- the Tholians! From the creative team behind Spock: Reflections! Summary Aboard the , first officer Cipriano enjoys a round of fencing with his captain, the legendary Hikaru Sulu, but loses in the face of Sulu's expert application of precision and exploiting pressure points. Before a second round can commence, a call comes in from Admiral Renshaw. There is a minor diplomatic incident which Starfleet Command believes Sulu is equipped to handle. Unfortunately, the other party is the Tholians. Sulu takes the news in stride, believing the crystalline aliens are merely projecting anger at Starfleet due to internal affairs, but is warned to not be late. Seeing that Cipriano does not understand the admiral's warning, Sulu explains the last time he encountered Tholians: ''The '' was attempting to rescue its sister ship, the , when a Tholian fleet arrived demanding they vacate Tholian space. Spock was able to haggle for additional time but when the Enterprise was unable to leave as planned, the Tholians attacked.'' The Enterprise made it out, by the skin of its teeth, but it is not an experience Sulu is eager to repeat. When the two men emerge on the bridge, Janice Rand brings the dire news of a distress beacon from the . The Excelsior warps to its location and commences rescue but interference from a nearby supernova has rendered communications offline leaving them unable to contact the Tholians. Thirty-seven minutes later, the Excelsior drops out of warp at the rendez-vous point. Predictably, all hails to the Tholians have gone unanswered and the aliens have responded to this slight against them by establishing a massive energy web the disputed planet of Mirabi 5. Long range scans detect a Tholian fleet on approach which Sulu hails. Putting on his best face, he begins to offer apologies for the delay but the Tholians have no interest. The delay has been viewed as a lack on interest in diplomacy and the Tholians will resolve the matter themselves by removing the colony. Sulu refuses to back down and orders the Excelsior to overtake the enemy fleet. The Tholians hail the Excelsior, demanding that Sulu move away who refuses. He apologizes for the thirty-seven minute delay and offers the Tholians two choices: Go to war over a thirty-seven minute delay or demonstrate that the Tholians hold mercy in higher regard than they do punctuality. Closing the lines, Sulu commences in a game of chicken, ordering a straight course for the lead ship. At 10,000 meters, the Tholians blink and forgive the delay, agreeing to return to the meeting site and commence discussions. Cipriano praises his captain who reveals that he was not bluffing. He was ready to fight the Tholians if need be, the Excelsior could have defeated the fleet...probably. As to how he knew the Tholians would not bite? The same reason Cipriano is nursing a fencing wound. It was simply a matter of knowing when and where to apply the right amount of force. References Characters :Cipriano • Dailey • Loskene • Lyon • Janice Rand • Renshaw • Hikaru Sulu • unnamed USS Excelsior (NCC-2000) personnel • unnamed Tholians Starships and vehicles : ( ) • (Constitution-class) • ( ) • ( ) • unnamed Tholian starships ( ) Locations :Te Fiti • Vyell • Vyell IV Mirabi • Mirabi 5 • Vyell IV border station Races and cultures :Human • Tholian States and organizations :Starfleet • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Intelligence • Tholian Assembly • United Federation of Planets Other references :admiral • captain • colony • commander • communications officer • ensign • fencing • first officer • lieutenant • lieutenant, junior grade • meter • minute • master systems display • phaser bank • photon torpedo • quarters • shields • solar flare • supernova • Tholian web • transporter • turbolift • viewscreen • warp factor Appendices Related stories *''The Tholian Web'' (''TOS'' episode) — Sulu has a flashback to the events of the episode. Continuity *Several significant continuity-errors exist throughout this issue, including repeated misuse of a refit ''Constitution''-class starship graphic on display screens onboard the [[USS Excelsior (NCC-2000)|USS Excelsior]] (instead of an ''Excelsior''-class ship layout). *Another continuity-error occurs during the rescue of the ''Oberth''-class [[USS Shepherd|USS Shepherd]] — one comic-frame depicts a 1960s [[Constitution class|''Constitution-class]] starship (likely an accidental reuse of the [[USS Defiant (NCC-1764)|USS Defiant]] from earlier in the story), instead of the Oberth-class vessel. *This comic appears to take place at some point early in Captain Sulu's command of the USS Excelsior (circa 2290 to 2291), after several significant command-staff changeovers (c.f., Excelsior: Forged in Fire), but prior to the events of The Lost Era novel The Sundered (set in 2298, after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), due to Sulu's relative inexperience with the Tholian race. Timeline '' comics| before=First issue in the series| after=Captain's Log: Harriman|}} Images External link Category:TOS comics